Reproductive health knowledge and sexual behaviour of male apprentices in automobile repair workshops in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Summary Although many surveys have been conducted on the reproductive health knowledge and sexual behavior of secondary school students in Nigeria, limited data are available on their male counterparts who arc out-of-school. This survey explored the reproductive health knowledge and sexual behavior of male apprentices working in automobile repair workshops in Ibadan North Local Government Area, Nigeria. A multistage stratified random sampling technique was used to select 325 male apprentices from seven of the twelve political wards in the study area. The study participants were interviewed by means of a standardized questionnaire. The majority of the respondents (65%) were aged less than 20 years. Almost all (95%) knew of at least one contraceptive; the most popular being the male condom (87%), followed by the pill (75%). More than half (52%) of those who knew of any contraceptive heard about it from the mass media (radio, TV and newspaper). A significant association was found between respondents' ages, level of education and reproductive health knowledge. Fifty two percent of the entire sample had ever visited a health facility to obtain a contraceptive service, 48% had not. Seventy five percent of the respondents had ever had sex, 25% had not. The mean age of sexual debut was 16 years. A large majority (76%) reported that they had sex during the month preceding the study. The frequency of sex during the period under consideration ranged from one to five times with a mean of two. Only fifty-seven percent used a condom during their last sexual episode. In conclusion, although many male apprentices were aware of contraceptives, few used them, thereby increasing their risk of undesirable consequence of unprotected sex.